Marcello Salvator's Story

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"This is your first time meeting my family so let me warn you about a few things. Rule #1, no drinking unless your at the table during dinner or after everyone's asleep and that doesn't mean you can get drunk, okay?..Rule #2, my father is very judgmental and especially to the people his kids are dating. He know's your coming but that doesn't mean he likes the idea. Rile #3 We can't kiss, touch, or snuggle. None of that, okay? As much as I'd like to I don't want my father seeing that sort of thing..What else am I forgetting?.." Westley was driving his Impala, talking to Marco, who was beside him, about all the things he should avoid doing while spending the holidays with his family. It was essential that Marco listened to his every word, rules were created for good reasons and they needed to be followed accordingly.

The car's speed slowly started to decrease as it pulled in front of a very large home, the password to open the front gate was the same as always so there was no need to buzz in but he did anyway. "Dad, Annie, Allie..It's me West, we're here, i'm gonna go ahead and open the gate. See you in a minute." With that, Westley entered the pass code and drove on in after the gates opened. Nothing had changed that much from the outside, he was expecting to see the inside all the same too.

Westley unbuckled his seat belt but before getting out of the car he locked the doors and turned to look at his boyfriend. "One last thing, try not to let any of my family members get on your nerves. Especially when Michael gets here, just try to enjoy yourself. I'm positive everyone else will love you almost as much as I do." Westley smiled lovingly at his boyfriend, he cared deeply for Marco and his well being, so getting into arguments with others over their sexuality didn't seem needed, they'd just enjoy their stay.

"Could you bring our luggage in? Please~?" Westley leaned over to Marco and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, just enough for them to last the day since no touching or personal display of affection was allowed beyond this point. He stepped out of the car, looking fondly at his old house and smiling lightly as he remembered all the past Christmas's they've had. This year was definitely going to be an awkward and unsettling change with Rose gone. Westley approached the front door, ringing the doorbell and waiting for someone to answer as his boyfriend retrieved their luggage from the trunk. He was wearing a warm sweater, it was brown and underneath he was wearing a white collared shirt. He was looking forward to seeing his younger siblings as well as the older ones but he knew he was the first to arrive because of the lack of cars parked.

The flight from Chicago to Boston was only around two and a half hours so getting home wasn't normally too much of a hassle. However, with it being a major holiday, the airport crowds seemed double the size of what they typically were. When the plane finally landed, Michael and Jocelyn headed to the baggage claim section. He easily picked out their suitcases and grabbed them both off of the line.

"There's our ride," Michael commented. There were a few different drivers in suits holding signs which various names on it, but Michael headed towards an older Indian man who was holding a sign that read 'Michael Porter'. He had told his father that he and Jocelyn wouldn't mind taking a taxi back to the house but John insisted that they use his regular driver, Rajesh. Michael had driven with the man before so he offered him a friendly smile and because he had no free hands, he tilted his head in Jocelyn's direction. "Thanks for picking us up. This is my beautiful girlfriend, Jocelyn," he said, grinning at Jocelyn. Rajesh offered to take their bags but Michael denied, not minding carrying them. They headed out of the airport and into the sedan. After putting the luggage in the trunk, Rajesh pulled off.

"You think Bear's going to be alright with Jen and Rob?" he asked, interlocking his hand in Jocelyn's as he looked over at her. Mike had purchased the puppy only a week or two prior as an early Christmas gift for Jocelyn. He knew that she had wanted a dog for a few years and Michael wasn't against the idea of getting one either. When he was younger, his family had a Golden Retriever named Buddy. It died when Michael was in high school and they didn't purchase a new one, so he missed having an animal companion around. However, he had tasked Jocelyn with training it.

"I know that you know how crazy my family can be, so I hope you're prepared for this week," he said with a smile, although he did truly feel like the week was going to be drama filled. He hadn't been home since the funeral and could only imagine how much things had changed since then. Between the slutty Instagram and Facebook posts that he saw on Annie's social media pages and the idea that his father's assistant had moved in with them, he was sure that their home life was different than before Rose died. Everything seemed like it was going to be different but what Michael didn't want to deal with the most was his brother, Westley. The idea of having to be in the same room with him bothered him enough, but having to live with him and his boyfriend was infuriating. However, Michael planned on trying to just ignore them out of respect for his late mother, and Jocelyn.

Annie was surprised when Allison appeared, offering to help her with her bracelet. Although Annie gave her a skeptical look, she held out her wrist and allowed her sister to fix the bracelet around it. After it clicked shut, she shook her hand to make sure it would stay shut and when she was content with it, she gave Allie half a smile as a thanks and continued down the stairs. Even though she lived with Allie, she still wasn't necessarily close with her. Her sister had always done her own thing, being involved in multiple musicals and plays, and was always busy with that. After Rose died, Annie became more involved in her own social life too, leaving little time for the two teenagers to spend together.

"I'm so hungry," Annie complained as she reached the first floor. Although the scents coming from the kitchen were are enticing as they were every Christmas before, it was unusual not having her mother running in and out of the kitchen, making sure that everything was perfect. They normally had a chef there to cook the meal for them but this year, Kate had him prepare it in advance and was cooking it on her own. Annie knew that Kate wasn't a big cook, which she didn't mind since it meant that they ordered food in a lot more than they did when her mother was alive. Still, she wasn't sure how this year's meal would turn out, even if their personal chef had prepared it in advance and all Kate had to do was put it into the oven.

"How much longer until we eat?" she asked, glancing back at her father, sister and Kate. She took a few steps towards the kitchen when she heard a male's voice on the intercom. It was Westley and his boyfriend, whose name was escaping Annie's memory at the moment. Although she wanted to steal one of the baked goods that she was sure were tucked away for dessert, Annie wasn't going to miss the awkward introductions between her father and siblings. Besides Michael and Allie, it seemed like John could find a problem with each of his other children. Some were bigger than others, like Emmie's hated boyfriend, but regardless, Annie figured that it would be entertaining. Her father's criticism was always more amusing when it wasn't directed towards her and she knew that meeting Westley's boyfriend would definitely be an uncomfortable situation.

She walked back into the foyer, standing next to Allie as she eyed the door and waited for her father or Kate to open it. "Do you think his boyfriend is going to be one of those fashionable gays? He probably likes theater stuff like you," Annie whispered to her sister.

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It had been an hour and a half drive which wasn't very long with music and conversation going on but as they drew closer to their destination, the music was turned off and Westley began talking about rules. Marco loved the idea of meeting his boyfriends family
but it sounded like a hassle. From what Marco had gathered, the girls in the porter family were totally fine with their brother being homosexual but the men on the other hand weren't, especially West's older brother. To be honest, Marco was a bit nervous and he was especially nervous about meeting John Porter who was especially judgmental about his children's lovers. Marco didn't think any father would want to meet their son's boyfriend. Marco lifted his head up from thought as he heard something about not being able to kiss or anything romantic while at the Porter residence. Now this week started to look like a punishment for Marco though he was half joking to himself.

As West pulled up to the front gate, Marco started spewing words out of his mouth without thinking, "See this is what sucks about being gay. You kiss and you make all the straight people uncomfortable while if a guy grabs a girls ass, no one blinks or fusses." West had pressed the button that allowed whoever was in the house to hear him but his boyfriend had spoken too so hopefully no one heard the comment that Marco had made.

Driving into the gated area, Marco was amazed by how big the place was. The Porters were definitely an upper-class family. The place looked beautiful and Marco admired how the sun shined off of everything as Westley's impala pulled up to the house. Marco pulled on the handle of the car door to let himself out but West had already locked it before he could. He turned his head towards his boyfriend with a slightly raised brow but after hearing West's words he simply rolled his eyes. "Fine, i'll try cause we all know it's quite easy to get along with an A-Class jackass like Michael." He scoffed lightly but spoke again soon after because he could tell this was important to his boyfriend. "Alright, i'll be on my best behavior, actually i'll be so well behaved you won't even think it's me in the room." Marco smiled lightly as he rested his hand on the handle of the car door which he expected to be unlocked any time soon. "Yeah, don't worry about the luggage. I got it, slave driver." Marco showed another smile but it was more like he was holding back a laugh though his inside laughter faded when he received a quick kiss from West. He wanted to complain about how the kiss was basically just a peck though he decided not to bother his boyfriend too much for the evening.

As West stepped out of the vehicle, Marco walked around to the back of the vehicle and opened the trunk to pull out two luggage bags. After he shut the trunk, Marco shortly followed behind West. He stepped up to the front door, still being a step behind his boyfriend. He kept the luggage bags in both his hands, not wanting to se them on the ground since the door would open any minute now. He began to look down at the outfit he was wearing and began to wonder if it was the right choice for this type of occasion but shook his head slightly. Now wasn't the time for that and it was too late anyway so he would have to deal with semi-formal attire. Marco glanced over at West as he spoke, "You know, it's not too late for us to bail and go out drinking with my brothers." Marco smiled with a half joking manner. Honestly, he wouldn't mind being around his brothers right now. They were just as uncomfortable when it came to homosexuals but it was fun to have them ask all sorts of stupid questions about homosexuality. Marco set his left hand on West's right shoulder and squeezed it lightly as a small act of comfort though it was more for him than it was for West. Hopefully, his time spent with the Porter family wasn't going to be as bad a experience as he thought it would be.

Kate was surprised to see John coming down the stairs as she was going up. She had not heard him come in and was getting ready to text him to make sure that everything was okay, so she was glad to see that he was dressed and ready for the night's festivities. He embraced her in a gentle hug and she leaned forward and returned his kiss. She was just as excited to formally meet his children, and although she was unsure of how they would feel towards her, Kate always tried to maintain a positive and hopeful attitude. Allie and Annie had taken well to her so she hoped that the older four children would feel the same way.

"You had me worried being gone for so long," Kate said as she followed him down the stairs.

John chuckled, "I'm not as bad with being late as you like to think."

Before they reached the bottom of the stairs, Annie's voice echoed throughout the halls as she shouted Kate's name. John opened his mouth to chastise his daughter for yelling in the house but Kate smiled and lightly pressed her finger against his lips, signaling for him to be quiet. He smirked at her, wanting to remain serious in front of Annie but not being able to help himself with Kate being there. She was always able to lighten the mood. It was hard for John to be tense around her, especially when it came to something as trivial as Annie's obnoxious shouts.

Only a moment after Annie appeared, Allie also made her way down the stairs. Before Kate could comply with Annie's request and help her with her jewelry, Allie offered to. Kate was surprised to see Annie allow her sister to help her. While the two girls were close in age, Kate knew that they rarely hung out. She thought it was a shame, too. Growing up as an only child, Kate always wanted to have a sister to talk to and hang out with and she never understood why the Porter girls couldn't make time for each other.

"Look how sweet your girls are," Kate said to John, slipping her smaller hand into his as she nudged her head towards his daughters. She then spoke up louder, "And don't they both look beautiful?". Kate knew that John wasn't very affectionate and rarely showed emotions towards his children, but she was trying to work on that with him.

John knew what Kate was trying to do. "Yes, you both look nice," he replied simply, although his eyes remained focused on Kate as he gave her a 'you're a piece of work' look.

After Westley buzzed himself in, Kate gave John's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Be nice, be friendly," she whispered, giving him a slight push towards the door. Normally Kate would have opened it herself and greeted the visitors, but she didn't feel like it was her place to act as the hostess to his own children. She stood behind him, only turning her head to Allie and Annie for a moment to address Annie's complaint about being hungry. "Dinner should be ready by five, babe."

John followed Kate's cue and slowly approached the door. When he opened it, John saw Westley and another man standing in front of him. Although part of John wanted to slam the door in their faces, the other, more prominent, side of him was glad to see his son. Regardless of his sexuality, John loved Westley and was proud of all that he had accomplished. Still though, he was unsure of how he was supposed to react to Marco being there. While John felt uncomfortable, he tried not to make it evident and embraced Westley in a quick hug. "Glad to have you back home for the holiday," he said, ushering the pair inside before turning to Marco and offering him a firm handshake. "John Porter," he introduced himself as, trying to be friendly although he couldn't bring himself to make strong eye contact with the stranger.

Joe was anxious himself, He thought they were going to be late but surprisingly they were close to on time. The previous week had been pretty rough for him. A fellow cop was shot and killed in the line of duty and Joe had to be there for the funeral which was the day before. He looked to Emmie, as she quickly removed her hand. "Babe you know how important this would be to your mother for us to be there." He said reassuringly." Besides, I'm gonna make sure this week is amazing." Keeping one eye on the road he began to check her out. "God you look so beautiful...." He said smiling. Joe was wearing some nice pleated pants and a dark green turtle neck sweater. He had on an old but very classy looking leather jacket. All of this was nothing compared to Emmie though.

Emmie knew he had taken the 24th of December through the 1st of January off of work but she didn't know why. He was planning on proposing New Years eve and he wanted to make the whole week special for her. He himself was very nervous about seeing her family but proposing was a whole different story. After a few minute they arrived at the house and Joe pulled his 96 Dodge Challenger into the Driveway. The car was actually his brothers before he passed away.

As he stopped the car he looked to Emmie and gave her a kiss. Smiling he said, "Go see your family Ill get the bags." and he got out of the car and went to the trunk. A few minutes later he saw her get welcomed into the house, he shut the trunk and was quickly behind her carrying their luggage. As he walked into the House He noticed a bunch of people had arrived. He nodded to John and set their bags briefly over to the side of the door.

Allie hadn't expected Annie to actually allow her to help but when she did Allow gave a large smile. Annie had given her a small smile, something she considered a victory, and continued down the stairs. Almost at the same time her sister complained about food Kate had mentioned them. She smiled at the woman and her father.

'You look great too Kate! And dad,' She gave a thumbs up. ' Very dashing.' Allie would of said more of West didn't buzz in. Her dad went to answer the door as Annie aproached her side. 'I really don't care what he's like as long as he treats West right.' She raised an eyebrow as her dad pulled West into a hug. 'And you don't have to be gay to like theatre.'

Okay maybe that wasn't the best thing to say when she herself was pansexual but no one needed to know that. Instead she hurried after her father and launched into West. Pulling her arms around him she embraced him in a tight hug. 'West! I'm so glad you're here!' She had her face buried in West's chest so Allie didn't notice the arrival of Emmie or her boyfriend.

Annie wasn't surprised when Allie gave her goody two-shoes response about how she would only judge Westley's boyfriend based on how he treated people, and not on the fact that he was gay. It was so typical of Allie, trying to be little miss sunshine who was always so polite and nice to everyone. Annie wasn't homophobic, at least not to the degree that her oldest brother was, but that didn't mean that she didn't agree with some of the stereotypes that kids at school would use to make fun of gay students. Her guy friends enjoyed putting down the gay students in an attempt to make themselves look more muscular and although Annie knew it was wrong, especially having a gay brother herself, she never did anything to stop it. She wasn't going to be 'that kid' and besides, she could admit that some of the jokes were funny.

Allie's next move made Annie roll her eyes. Her sister nearly jumped into West's arms and greeted him in an overly-enthusiastic manner. 'She is so fucking annoying,' Annie thought to herself, although she knew that Allie wasn't doing anything wrong and in fact, was being a better sister than she was. However, Annie didn't ignore her brother and his boyfriend. After Allie finished, Annie gave her brother a small wave and tried to make her smile seem more genuine than it really was. She wanted to be friendly and outgoing, but she didn't feel like she had a reason to be. She was six years younger than West and Mia, eight years younger than Michael and ten years younger than Emmie. She didn't feel like there was anything connecting them anymore, especially since they all lived in various parts of the country.

In the past, Annie had been more interested in her older siblings than she was now. She would wait by the big window in the living room until she saw their cars pull into the driveway, and she would be the first one to greet them at the door. It was mostly to see if they would give her her Christmas present early, but nonetheless, she was excited to see them. Now, a gift didn't seem worth all of the energy.

Between all of the commotion with West and his boyfriend, no one seemed hurried to answer the door that had just rang again, so Annie glided past her brother and Marco and pulled the large door open. Emmie was waiting there, with Joseph following close behind. For a second, she looked past her sister and at the snow that was falling from the sky, but as a gust of wind came in, Annie realized that it was cold and stepped aside so Emmie and Joseph could come in.

"Hi," was all that she said to her oldest sister before shutting the door behind Joseph. When she was younger, maybe six or seven, Annie had always been fascinated with her two oldest sisters. They were cool teenagers who always had pretty clothes and could drive on their own and as a six year old, their lives seemed to be nothing short of amazing. However, their age difference had separated them because by the time that Annie was old enough to actually appreciate having older sisters, they were already off at college, doing their own thing. She still liked Emmie though, even if she didn't have any desire to show it at the moment.

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As nice as drinking with a few other guys sounded, he wasn't going to take the offer and chose to believe that Marco was only joking about bailing. West understood that his boyfriend was nervous but he needed to get over it, spending Christmas at the bar was not the way to go. Now that he thought about it, Marco hadn't even asked to spend Christmas with the Porter family, it was West who insisted on the idea because he thought Marco might be lonely with just his brothers. He hoped he made the right decision when bringing Marco along, he also had another great reason to bring Marco on the trip because he planned to propose. That's right, he was going to propose to his One & Only Prince Charming. West was keeping the ring in his pocket, he didn't want to put it in his suitcase in fear of having Marco find it.

The arriving couple was welcomed warmly by John Porter, though it wasn't that heart warming really. West could tell his father was a bit uneasy by the way he embraced his son for only a few seconds and then he wouldn't even look Marco in the eyes but that was to be expected. "Thanks dad, it's really great to see you too. This is my boyfriend Marco, he's quite the cook so I thought later he could help whoever's preparing dinner." It would have been strange if John was actually happy to see his son's surprise boyfriend, it was almost laughable how awkward John and Marco looked together. As West turned his head to look away from his father and boyfriend, he was embraced by his younger sister, Allie. Such a small framed girl, loving, sweet, and her very presence lightened up the room.

"Yeah, I tried to be on time so I could get to see you girls." West wrapped his arms around Allie and held her back, leaving a kiss on her head. He put his arms to his sides and smiled at Allie, placing his hands on her shoulders. He really had been away for quite some time, his little sister was practically a gorgeous young woman. "Please tell me you have recorded videos of when you were in theater. I bet I missed a million plays while I was away." He knew his sister loved to entertain so he was hoping to be able to see some of her performances, he was suppose to be her big and supportive brother.

In the background, beyond his view of Allie, he could see Annie. He wasn't that close to her as a child but they were siblings so of course he would embrace her too but just when he was about to, Annie had slipped by him and went to the door. While Annie was getting the door, West noticed a unfamiliar face. It was a woman with long orange hair, to be more specific it was Kate though he had no idea who she was and guessed she might be the chef or housekeeper, maybe even a nanny for the girls. Looking back to the door West was able to see Emmie and her boyfriend, he just smiled seeing the whole family slowly start to form. All they needed now was Michael, his girlfriend, and Mia.

West moved back over to his lovely boyfriend Marco, nudging him lightly with his elbow and glancing up towards him. "How was it? Shaking my Dad's hand that is, would you say he's Dracula or a Serpent Man?" West could remember that most people in his father's line of business would compare him to monsters, he found it hilarious.

Joe Stepped off to the side, as Emmie left his side to go reunite with her loved ones. This was how he usually played these family get togethers, cool and kind of reserved. She seemed really happy to see her brother West, he knew that he was one of her favorite siblings. He liked seeing her smile because it made him smile. This week was for Emmie and the term "Yes dear" was one that he was planning on using a lot. There was something strange about her recently though. She seemed more clingy, and reluctant to let him go to work. Not that Joe minded, he loved the way that she cared and worried about him. It just seemed a bit more prevalent. He shook the though out of his head and came back to reality.

He noticed that in between greetings John was shooting him a few looks. Joe was used to that by now but there will always be that feeling of unease. He wasn't by any means afraid of John or anyone in her family for that matter. Joe had seen to much shit growing up and on the job to honestly really care what anyone but Emmie thinks of him. He put on a big fake smile as John shot him another look. Hearing the faint sound of several car doors shutting Joe glanced out the window by the door to see Michael, his girlfriend and Mia approaching the house. Hearing an expected knock on the door, He slinked over to the door and opened it to let the three of them in. The gathering area was now officially crowded with the addition of three more people.

Joe resumed his position of being near the back. "The best defense, is a good offense...."He thought to himself.

After greeting Westley, John's oldest daughter, Elizabeth, also appeared. Annie had opened the door for her and John took the opportunity of Westley being occupied with Allie and Emmie with Annie to step back towards Kate. He gave her a reassuring smile, even if it was more for himself than her. Although he didn't feel guilty about dating Kate because he and Rose had been planning on divorcing anyway, his children didn't know about that and he didn't want anyone to get upset with him over it, especially before they got to know Kate.

After Emmie finished with West and Annie, John embraced her in a hug. "It's good to see you, Emmie," he offered. "How was the drive up? It looks like the storm is just rolling in now. Was it already snowing in the city?" Although John had never been particularly close with Emmie, she was his first child and would always hold a special place in his heart, even if he would never express any extra affection towards her. Besides, after giving Joseph an acknowledging nod, John thought that making small talk would be less awkward than silence.

A rush of cold air signaled that someone else had arrived and John glanced past his children to see that Mia had also arrived. "Welcome home," he said, giving his second daughter a hug as well. He was going to ask her about what the weather had been like in California lately, guessing that it was much nicer than it was here, when he felt a gentle touch on his back. As he tilted his head back, he saw Kate standing behind him. She had a warm smile on her face and John was surprised that she hadn't already introduced herself, but figured that there hadn't been much of an opportunity to do so in all of the commotion.

"Kids," John said, speaking loud enough to be heard over the small conversations happening among the kids. "This is Kate. She's been staying with us since your mother passed away, keeping me and the girls comfortable," he addressed his children as he took Kate's hand in his and smiled.

"I'm so excited to meet you all," Kate said.

Before anyone could respond, John realized that they probably wanted to put their bags away and besides that, he wanted everyone to get settled in so he could relax a bit more. "Annie and Allie can help you bring your bags up to your rooms," John said, glancing towards his two youngest children. "Marco, there are two bedrooms free in the guest cottage that you're welcome to stay in. West can show you out there," John offered, maintaining a friendly. However, he was unsure if his son and his boyfriend would be offended or not. He wasn't forcing Joseph or Jocelyn to sleep in separate bedrooms than Emmie or Michael. Even though John didn't approve of Joseph, the idea of him sleeping with his daughter was a lot less disturbing than Westley sleeping with another man.

Allie enjoyed being hugged by her brother. With their family, it was rare that that ever happened. Finally, she pulled back and smiled. "Don't worry, West. Kate must of recorded all of them from every possible angle." With that, she turned to the man next to West. "You must be Marco!" She thrust her arm out to shake hands with him. "I'm really happy to meet the man who captured my brother's heart!"

At that moment, even more of her family walked in, causing Allie to smile wide. She may not have been very close with them, but they were still family. Her dad had gone to Emmie leaving Allie to wonder where Joseph was. She was eager to see Joe. Finally, she spotted him hidden in a corner. Chuckling slightly, she gave him a small wave. Her dad may not be a fan of Joe but Allie didn't see much wrong with him.

She took a step back as Kate introduced herself and tried to watch her siblings reactions. They more than likely wouldn't be as welcoming to Kate as Allie was. "Oh." Allie took a large step forward and gave a humorous bow at her siblings and their partners. "I'd be happy to take your bags, guys."

Michael laughed when Jocelyn commented on how uncomfortable her outfit was. He knew that she didn't like to dress up but appreciated that she did for the day. "I think you look gorgeous," he said, kissing her gently.

The ride to his childhood home wasn't too bad, even with the snow that was beginning to coat the road. He was glad that the storm hadn't arrived earlier, knowing that his flight would have been delayed if it was. Although Michael suspected that there would be some tension amongst his siblings, he wasn't really nervous for the week's events. He didn't feel like he had done anything wrong to anyone. Sure, he had basically erased West from his life, but Michael didn't think that was any of his other sibling's business. Besides, none of them were perfect siblings either. Emmie and Mia had both disappeared after their mother died, leaving their two younger sisters at home without a female figure. Michael knew that it wasn't their official responsibility to give up their own lives to take care of Allie and Annie, but he did think that as the girls in the family, they would have an easier time relating and consoling Allie and Annie, since they were also girls.

When the car pulled through the gates, Michael knew he was home. He paid Rajesh and grabbed their bags from the trunk before opening Jocelyn's door for her. She seemed to be struggling in her heels and between the coat of snow on the ground and her already known discomfort in the shoes, he didn't blame her. With a grin, Michael crouched down and allowed her to climb onto his back. He gave her a piggyback ride to the door and because he spotted a few cars in the driveway, signaling that his siblings were already home, he didn't bother to knock on the door. He allowed Jocelyn to stand up before pushing the door open.

Just as they entered, Michael caught his father directing everyone to their rooms. He waited for him to finish talking before making he and Jocelyn's presence known. "Merry Christmas," he said, placing the two bags on the ground before stepping past his siblings and giving his father an embrace. "I think most of you know Jocelyn," he said, smiling at his girlfriend.

He recognized his siblings, obviously, and spotted Emmie's boyfriend, Joe, as well as a guy standing with Westley. Just as West was irrelevant to Michael, the guy who Mike assumed was his boyfriend was as well. Although Michael and Joe never got along well, now that there was an even more hated person in the house, Emmie's boyfriend didn't seem that bad. Michael gave him a nod as a greeting, more than he would have done normally, and then turned back to Jocelyn. "Want to head up to my room? I'm exhausted from that flight," he said, giving her a quick wink.

Annie was pleasantly surprised when Emmie opened her purse and pulled out two gifts for her. Her attention was mostly directed towards the iPhone 6 plus. It was the gold one that she had wanted, but she was surprised when Emmie mentioned that she thought she didn't have a phone. She was right that their father didn't want Annie to have one, but after Kate moved in, Annie was able to influence Kate into convincing her father to buy her the iPhone 5s. Although she had gotten the phone three months ago, she didn't blame her sister for not knowing that. She hadn't seen Emmie since the funeral and because her sister wasn't close with their dad, she doubted that Annie getting a phone would have been a top conversation topic in one of Emmie and John's very infrequent phone calls or emails.

Even though she had a phone, Annie was still very pleased to have the latest model, seeing that she wasn't scheduled to get a phone upgrade for another year. Although she was excited, Annie didn't squeal or jump up and down as she would have in past years when she received a cool gift. She did, however, offer Emmie a genuine smile, half a hug, and a "thanks" before allowing her to move on to greet West and the others.

Annie stepped away from the door too, and approached Allie. She waved the iPhone box in front of her sister's face and said, "be jealous," with a smirk. Before Annie could sneak upstairs, Mia entered and then her father spoke up about Kate and how she and Allie were supposed to help everyone to their rooms. Then, Michael and Jocelyn appeared. They were the last ones that were expected to come and as the door clinked shut behind them, Annie dreaded the idea of having to live with all of her siblings for a week.

"Allie can handle it," Annie piped up after her father stopped talking. She didn't acknowledge Michael or Jocelyn and hadn't had a chance to properly greet Mia, West, Marco or Joseph, but Annie wanted to check out her new phone and before her father could object, she ran up stairs and headed for her bedroom.

Now that everyone was here her father told everyone to get settled in. So far things were going ok....It had only been ahalf and hour but yeah pretty good. Joe went over and picked up their bags and followed suit as people began to go to their rooms. He followed Emmie upstairs to the room she grew up in. Closing the door behind them he set the bags on the bed.

He had been in the room before, seeing all of her high school pictures and and he books, and magazines, A banner with their schools colors. He always got a sense of pride when he was in that room. He could tell that she was well loved in High school and It made him even more proud that she was with him. He thought about his high school, how everyday there was fights, and they had several security guards. Most of his classmates ended up staying in Hells Kitchen. Part of him wished that her family would put their problems aside and actually realize how lucky they really are. Joseph had graduated as one of the top in in his class and his older brother the same. Their mother was a fighter and with god as her witness she was going to make sure her boys had a good education.

Again, coming back to reality he noticed Emmie was looking at her high school year book. He approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her stomach and began to nuzzle and kiss her neck. "Merry Christmas." He knew that she loved it when he did that. "How long do you think we have until your dad wants us downstairs?" He said in a slightly joking tone. He couldn't think of a better person he wanted to be with than Emmie.

"Yeah sure I'll come in a second but first I would like to probably introduce myself since I haven't really met anyone just seen them around when I took piano lesson's with Rose" Jocelyn stated then instantly felt guilty. She didn't know if Rose was still a soft topic for some of them. She pushed down the feeling and smiled brightly. She went to John first, whom was standing beside a ginger haired woman.

"Hello John its nice to see you again and I'm sorry I don't seem to know you but my name's Jocelyn Wolff, Michael's girlfriend, its a pleasure to meet you" Jocelyn said to the ginger haired woman then went over to the other Porter children and did the same thing, though Annie had walked upstairs before she could say hello. She stopped at West and his boyfriend, giving them a kind smile. She felt so bad for them, since they probably weren't able to show affection towards one another. She would miss being with Michael when he was gone for a day of work so she couldn't imagine having to stay indifferent to one another for a week. These boys needed some mistletoe over their heads.

"You must be West's boyfriend, sorry I feel rude for not knowing many names, but its nice to meet you I'm Jocelyn and I must say that you and West make a very cute couple" she stated kindly. Michael knew she supported gay marriage and rights and she also knew he was going to try and act civil around then, but sadly being civil in his opinion was completely ignoring the two.

Her last stop was Emmie and her boyfriend but they went up the stairs before she could say hello. Having polity introduced herself she then followed Michael up to his old room. Once they were in Jocelyn observed the room she hadn't seen in a long time and smiled at the quaint charm about it before flopping down on his bed to give her high heeled feet a rest. How do women walk around in these all day?

"Oh hey Mike, on December 26 I'm gonna go see my dad and my brother's visiting from Jasper, we were planning on going hunting do you want to come with us?" Jocelyn questioned.

The door opened to Joseph “Hey.” she said giving him a side hug. Mia heard her father welcome her in and flashed him a smile. The hallway was getting pretty cramped which settled her thoughts on if she was late. Before she could greet any of her siblings a cold breeze on the back of her legs was an obvious sign more people were arriving, and from the looks of it she could guess who it was. Stepping aside she seen her older brother, who didn’t miss a beat before hugging their father, and his girlfriend step in.

Leaning up against the door frame Mia listened to John introduce the mystery women standing behind him. So that’s Kate. She wasn't really what Mia had planned on her looking likeThe whole while John was introducing her Mia kept a sly smirk on. There was something sketchy about their situation and she wasn’t too fond on how quickly John seemed to replace her mother.

She greeted the rest of her family, grabbed her bag and went up to her room. To be frank, she was tired and didn't really want to prolong any greetings. They were going to be living with each other for the next week and there would be plenty of time to talk to everyone. Once she reached her bedroom she was delighted to find that the room was almost exactly the way she left it, except for a few minor details, the major one being that it was spotless and her bed was made. Other than that the first surfboard she ever got was up above her bed. It was in two pieces, the first time she broke a board, it was a momentous occasion and figured it was something worth praising, at least to her it was it sent her mother into a worrying fit and she wanted her to stop it entirely. She was under for a good three minutes and came out with only a couple scrapes and a minor concussion. Mia dropped her bag to the floor and kicked it to the bed. She meticulously pulled off her shoes by simply kicking them off in any which direction and fell onto her bed, her legs dangling off the end. It was like laying on a cloud, completely consuming her, a major enhancement from the dorm beds. She was exhausted, this one day had been more work than her entire school year and there was nothing that she wanted more than to just sleep.

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As the front door opened up, a tall male who was aging quite well for himself appeared in front of them. Marco guessed the man was West's father, John Porter, because of the embrace they shared. Well the hug was quick so, John started to usher them into his home. Marco picked up the bag that he had set by his feet moments ago and walked into the house but set the luggage down, once again, when he was fully through the door and out of the way. Marco kind of wished that West hadn't mentioned that he knew his way pretty well around a kitchen. It's not like he didn't want to help, really he'd be gladly to help out, but he didn't want to be looked at as unmanly.

Once they were all inside, Marco was surprised to see a hand held out to him by West's father. The man looked unsettling and like he really wished he didn't have to do this. John had manners though which was something to admire. Marco grabbed the mans hand and shook it firmly. "Hello sir, nice to finally meet you. Names, Marcello Salvator but I like people to call me Marco." He introduced himself with a smile though John didn't see it because of the lack of eye contact the man was giving. Marco let go of the mans hand soon, he didn't want to make West's father uncomfortable. Though as Marco let go of the mans hand another hand was held out in front of him. "Nice to meet you, you must be Allie." Marco would have said more but the energetic sweetheart left to greet other family.

Soon all of the Porter children and their significant others had arrived which cued John to introduce a beautiful red headed woman who's name was Kate. Marco wondered if she was some nanny or something. The woman seemed to be nice and heart warming unlike John was. What came next out of John's mouth that caught Marco's attention the most was the fact that John only mentioned him sleeping out in the cottage and not West which wasn't much of a surprise though Marco knew West wouldn't be so cruel to have him sleep alone. Or would he?

A smiley blonde woman appeared in front of West and himself. She introduced herself and commented on the relationship he shared with West. If Marco remembered correctly, Jocelyn was Michael's girlfriend and she seemed like a total sweetheart. Really Marco was picturing a republican woman who never put on a smile but then again, his imagination was off a bit when it came to people. Plus he didn't like Michael all that much so he kind of pictured his girlfriend to be just as distasteful. Marco was completely wrong though and smiled back at the woman. "Thanks, nice to meet you, my names Marcello but you can just call me Marco." The blonde woman soon walked off to greet others. Really, Marco wished there were more of Jocelyn around right now.

One of the Porter children ran up stairs, she looked around his age so he guessed the woman was West's twin sister. Marco turned his head to his boyfriend and nudged him in the side with his elbow. So he was touching him but it wasn't like he was kissing West in front of the whole Porter family so they were good for now. "So are you going to show me to our room?" Marco stepped back a little and closer to the door since the cottages were outside. He knew John had meant for Marco to sleep out in a cottage while West sleep inside and probably in his old room but Marco didn't like the idea. He had been nice and behaved so he deserved the right to sleep next to West tonight.